Copyright 2006 The News Tribune
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By JASON HAGEY
The News Tribune (Tacoma, Washington)
The Tacoma Fire Department plans to turn a small house on McKinley Avenue into a temporary fire station to help keep up with increasing calls for service on the city’s east and south sides.
Engine 15, currently at a station on the Tideflats near the Hylebos Bridge, would move into the temporary quarters and help relieve the burden on the two stations that currently handle most of the calls for those parts of town.
Engine 10, at 7247 S. Park Ave., and Engine 11, at 3802 E. McKinley Ave., responded to approximately 9,000 calls between them in 2005, Interim Chief Ron Stephens said.
“That’s just too much for two stations,” Stephens said. “Generally, 3,000 calls is considered a high work load for one station.”
As part of the reshuffling, Engine 6, near the east end of the Murray Morgan Bridge, would move to a more central location on the Tideflats to back up Engine 3 in Northeast Tacoma, Stephens said. The new home for Engine 6 has not yet been determined, though it would be considered temporary, as well, Stephens said.
The department has looked at space near the Port of Tacoma Road and Highway 509, and property adjacent to the fire department’s training center on Marshall Avenue, Stephens said.
The City Council is scheduled to decide tonight whether to approve spending $163,000 to buy the house at 6415 E. McKinley Ave. from Darren and Kristine Zachary.
If approved, the department would need about three to six months to remodel the house and move into it, Stephens said. Officials would need to either build a garage for the fire engine or buy one. A full traffic signal may also be installed at McKinley Avenue and East 64th Street, he said. The intersection currently has a flashing light.
Calls for medical aid are up throughout Tacoma, but the increase is especially pronounced in the city’s east and south neighborhoods, fire officials said.
Explanations for the rise aren’t fully understood, but an aging population and a relative lack of access to health care are likely factors, said Pat McElligott, president of the Tacoma firefighters union Local 31.
A person with health insurance is more likely to see a doctor before a medical problem turns into a crisis, he said. Someone without insurance is more likely to end up calling 911.
Whatever the reason, McElligott said the union supports the administration’s response.
“Our guys are getting beat up out there in the South End,” McElligott said. “Moving Engine 15 is a good move.”
The temporary station might be used for three to five years, Stephens said. A long-term solution has not been determined.
The one-story, two-bedroom house was built in 1929 and updated in 1965, according to Pierce County property records. It has 841 square feet. Its assessed value is $100,300.
A captain, two lieutenants and eight firefighters would work from the station. Three people would be on duty at a time. They would use it for sleeping, eating and office work.
The City Council has considered closing Station 13 in the Proctor neighborhood twice in recent years in response to budget problems, but the station remains open.